Morgan Stanley FY2024 EPS Forecast Boosted by Zacks Research

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, December 10th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $7.19 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $7.18. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.32 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.47 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.03 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MS. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $127.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $123.40 and its 200 day moving average is $108.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.